Food MythBusters and Sustainable Agriculture

The Move to Sustainable Agriculture

I can't help but be very excited that there are folks out there like Anna Lappe and the Food MythBusters helping to clarify the media hogwash about industrial agriculture and food shortages. With constant ad campaigns and political messages drumming a message of industrial ag saving the world from food shortages, it's no wonder that the voices of actual farmers and those studying the true cost of such awful practices is too often drowned out. It comes down to what the system is designed for. Industrial agriculture, on one hand, is designed to make money for a small group of people in the short run. Sustainable practices, on the other hand, are designed not only to provide truly nutritious food (imagine using nutritious food to feed the world!), but to do so in a way that IMPROVES the land and its surroundings in the process. And it does all this in a way that ensures the people and our resources thrive in the long run. 

Do We Really Need Industrial Agriculture to Feed the World?

It's clear that sustainable farming of any kind is a vast improvement, but there are levels of sustainability even to this. Many sustainable farms still rely on labor and machinery-intensive practices every year in order for food to grow. Permaculture and food forests, however, are sustainable systems that are designed to sustain themselves once they're established, and not just rely on labor and machinery year after year. And these systems don't just maintain: they grow in stability!

I'm thrilled to see the sustainable farming message getting out, and looking forward to more movement in this direction!